Sunday’s solid swell continued on through Monday, so it was a lightning-quick start at Ponta Preta as the riders prepared to pitch straight into round four of the men’s division for the third day at the GKA Kite-Surf World Tour opening round of 2018 in Cape Verde.

Nobody could have expected such an early exit for one of Cape Verde’s favourite sons, Matchu Lopes! / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Pedro Matos beat Matchu Lopes in the first heat – the upset of the event up to that point – before Jan Marcos Riveras dispatched Camille Delannoy and Keahi de Aboitiz booked his place in the semi-finals ahead of Djo Silva.

Jan Marcos jamming hard / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Local shredder Elvis Jose Almeida Nunes then came out on top against Tarifan rider Gustavo Arrojo before Airton Cozzolino beat Aussie charger James Carew with the performance of the round – breaking out the grabbed backroll off the lip before landing back on the wave once again.

Next up Ismail Adarzane knocked Ralph Boelen out of the running and then his F-One teammate Mitu Monteiro secured his route to the quarter-finals ahead of Cape Verdean up-and-comer Bernardo Barros.

The round finished with a solid finale when, during a heat in which the waves were a little thin on the ground, Sebastian Ribeiro pushed past Paulino Pereira – a rider who many onlookers had tipped for the final after his stunning performance on day two.

Paulino punches the clock at the end of his round four shift / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

THE QUARTER-FINALS

Yet more drama was to come in this round and Pedro continued his relentless push up the table, taking out another experienced tour rider Jan Marcos Riveras in the first heat.

Elvis Nunes did well – reaching the quarter-finals among some of the tour’s top riders / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Keahi, who had been pretty much faultless since his first heat of the day, then beat Elvis Nunes before Ismail gave Airton a real run for his money. For a while it looked as though he might unseat the World Champ but it wasn’t enough though and Airton took the heat, continuing on towards his eventual victory.

The last quarter-final heat was a big one. The legend of Ponta Preta himself, Mitu Monteiro, was pushing the wave for all it’s worth, hacking turns close in to the shore as his fins churned disaster just above the rocks, but Sebastian Ribeiro was stylish, surgical and making no mistakes. He ejected Mitu from the event, shocking the home crowd that was lined up on the beach.

Mitu knows Ponta Preta better than any other kiter on the planet but, on this day, he couldn’t rise to the challenge / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

WOMEN’S ROUND TWO

Next up came round two of the women’s division in which the losers of yesterday’s round one heats battled to stay in the competition. Charlotte Carpentier won the first heat and Spanish strapless freestyle phenom Carla Herrera Oria also secured her route to round three.

Local rider, and the sister of Airton, Didi Lopes then built on her previous day’s performance to progress ahead of Polish rider Justyna Sierpinska and she was followed by Marie Gautron from France.

THE SEMI-FINALS

In the first semi-final heat, Keahi stopped Pedro Matos’ meteoric rise up the table with a polished display that underlined just why he has four World Titles to his name. He blended aerials, picture-perfect cutbacks and expert wave reading to take the win. It was close though (and the judges’ scoring reflected that) but Pedro pushed him all the way.

Keahi can / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Airton’s heat against Sebastian was similarly tight and, while he undoubtedly deserved his win, it was by a slim margin in challenging conditions with long spells between the sets and the wind becoming marginal at times.

THE FINAL

This was a clash of the titans, no mistake. Keahi and Airton have competed against each other countless times over the years but Airton had never beaten the Australian in a final heat until today! Airton launched into the heat with some of the best aerials we’ve seen so far at the event, attacking each wave until he was ‘danger-close’ to the rocks as the home crowd went wild.

Airton airs / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Keahi responded with his seamless surf-influenced style and his tactical wave selection was just what you’d expect from such a seasoned competitor. However, the conditions were favouring moves off the lip as the heat progressed and that played right into Airton’s hands.

Airton seemed to feed off the crowd and, by the time the heat drew to a close, it was already pretty clear who the winner was.

No doubt in these guys’ minds about who the champ was today! / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

The man from Santa Maria had done it and, with that, kicked off his season in fine form! Speaking after, he said it was emotional for him to have taken the win at home in Cape Verde. He’d had to fight every step of the way but the glory was his and rightfully so!

The mini-final followed as the Brazilians battled for third. Two of the biggest sets of the day rolled through during the heat and both riders, who are solid surfers as well as kiters, looked right at home on their front hand. Sebastian took the heat though, rounding out an impressive event for him during which he’s proved himself to be right at the top when the conditions favour more wave-focused riding.

Ponta Preta gave up the goods today for a massive day of competition at the first stop on this year’s GKA Kite-Surf World Tour in Sal, Cape Verde. The riders picked up where they left off on Saturday, continuing with round one of the men’s division during which Sebastian Ribeiro, Airton Cozzolino and Paulino Pereira opened their accounts with convincing wins in their round one heats.

Airton going for the cover up! / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

In round two, Gustavo Arrojo, Arsenio Dias and Tony Cili rode well in challenging heats to avoid elimination and stay in the competition and this was where we saw the first riders exit the event.

Round one of the women’s division came next with Jalou Langeree up first against local rider Didi Lopes in heat one. The Dutch charger won the heat and was impressive on her back hand, adjusting well after a full winter in Cape Town riding frontside. Portuguese rider Inês Correia lives in Santa Maria and is a local at Ponta Preta, so knows the wave inside out and she won heat two comfortably, before current GKA Women’s Champ, Moona Whyte, notched up a strong start to her season by winning against South African rider Lyde Heckroodt.

Moona Whyte eyes her next move / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Jalou Langeree in her first heat of the main event / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Then it was on to round three of the men’s division. Matchu Lopes and Mitu Monteiro showed their experience at this spot – despite Mitu having fewer quality waves to work with than he might have liked. They both won their heats to the delight of the local crowd who were out in force hoping to watch the home town heroes represent for Cape Verde.

Mitu The Maestro makes his move / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Keahi de Aboitiz was unreal in his heat against local rider Arsenio Dias, popping over rocks as he shredded down the line squeezing every wave for all it was worth. Following that the pace continued and the crowd went nuts for Airton’s round three heat which was, frankly, insane. At the end of a long ride that saw him link up powered top turns, a stylish floater and a grabbed aerial he then landed a trick that’s never yet been done in competition just before the wave closed out – a grabbed back roll off the lip which he landed on the wave’s face before kicking out as the crowd applauded.

Airton airs / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

The last stellar performances of the day were from Paulino and Sebastian. Paulino nailed ultra-powered turns in some of the biggest waves of the day, sending the biggest spray off the lip seen up to now at this event and scored two perfect tens for his efforts!

Paulino – Portuguese and Powered / Photo: Ydwer van der Heide

Sebastian was nearly as impressive. His round three heat was near faultless and his riding was precise with his super smooth surf-inspired style and impeccable wave selection that meant he always seemed to find himself in the right place at the right time and he racked up the points to win his heat convincingly.

The action drew to a halt at 6pm as the sun began to set but, with the wind still blowing and the waves still pumping, so many of the riders headed back out for a stress-free freeride session to prepare for tomorrow – away from the judges’ scrutiny as the semi-finals and the closing rounds of the competition approach.

Hood River is epic. Unfortunately, Alexander Lewis-Hughes injured the discs in his back just before heading out there. He did however get back on the board in the land of the healing and filmed a couple of quick clips. “This is more of a session vibe than a full on video part but with that being said I think I still might have knocked out a couple of fruity Slider Project NBD (Never Been Dones)” he says.

The guys at North Kiteboarding caught up with Ken Winner to talk them through the new 2018 Mono. The kite has a simple, minimal design with an excellent ability to stay in the air no matter how light the wind.

What was your vision for developing the 2018 Mono?

The Mono has really come into its own this year for foiling. Its light weight really helps in the underpowered conditions that are so good for this style of riding whilst the smooth, soft bar feel is also great for the delicate balance needed when up on the foil. Additionally, gusts and lulls aren’t felt as forcefully through the Mono control bar when compared with other models.

What was the R&D process for the 2018 Mono?

Sky Solbach, Patri McLaughlin and I did a lot of twin-tip, wave board and foil riding in Maui. It’s a great place for testing thanks to the wide range of conditions so we were able to put the Mono through its paces in everything from light, steady and strong winds. We also have a spot where the wind is light and unsteady which we use to mimic conditions often found on lakes.

What design updates can we see on the new 2018 Mono?

The new Mono has a wider arc design which improves depower and softens the bar feel, both of which are good qualities for foil kites. However, it retains power and still works well with twin-tips and wave boards, just with a little less grunt and little more depower. It’s also more pivoty through the turns.

What settings are available on the 2018 Mono and what recommendations do you have for them?

All bridle options remain the same, the only suggestions I would have would be to do with line lengths. The smaller sizes of kite really work best on longer lines. For example, if it’s super windy and you want to ride the 3.5m and a foil then you should use 24m lines as anything shorter decrease the power stroke and the kite won’t deliver the power needed. But with longer lines and a longer power stroke the kite will produce more than enough power and be easy to ride. With the 5m it’s less clear-cut, but I would say that it should only be used with 22m or 24m lines. Personally I prefer 24m lines as they smooth out the power. Sizes 7m-15m are good with anything from 19m-27m lines, depending on what the rider is doing. A foil or wave rider might want to use the 12m or 15m Mono with short lines for a quicker response, whereas someone aiming to maximise power on the same size kite would use longer lines for an increased power stroke. It really depends on the style of riding. I generally use the 7m, 9m, and 12m with 22m lines as it’s a good all-round setup.

Sum up the 2018 Mono and who it is perfect for.

The Mono is great for those who like a simple, minimal design with an excellent ability to stay in the air no matter how light the wind. Wave riders who like a little less grunt and foilers looking for an ultra smooth ride will revel in the Mono. Easy to relaunch and comfortable all-round, its light weight also makes it the perfect travel companion.

Guests were evacuated but Ben Wilson, Beau Pilgrim and Stu Gibson stayed behind to look after Namotu Island as the category 5 Cyclone Gita headed closer to Fiji after devastating parts of Tonga overnight. The boys are still there and managed to squeeze a novelty kite in before the weather deteriorated. With no guests left to entertain, by the looks of it, they’ve found a way to entertain themselves. Stay safe boys! Update to come, in the mean time, scroll through the gallery above to see what they’ve been up to.